Silver Soul
by HighFlyer0603
Summary: Leticia Stark is a genius of the same calibre as her elder brother. Like Tony, she is a candidate for the Avengers initiative, but along with her brain, it is her unusual...abilities that guarantee her a space. More mysterious however, is the rune mark on her wrist that remains permanently covered by a white glove and an unexplainable connection she has had since childhood.
1. Prologue

Silver Soul

Prologue

From the time Leticia Stark was born, she had strange dreams. Within these dreams she saw a hulking blond-man wielding a hammer, a slim ebony-haired man with a snake, three men of varying descriptions wearing thick shimmering armour with a dark-haired, armour-clad woman and a male and female both wearing crowns. In these dreams, they were always performing a variety of actions, but the worst were the ones where they were crying out for her, begging for her to come to them; where the blond-haired could be seen staring longingly at the moon and shimmering stars. These particular dreams had her wrenching from her bed sobbing and taking solace in her big brother's bed until the light came.

From the time Leticia Stark could draw, these people moved from her dreams onto her paper and she could be often seen drawing steep cliffs, flowing waterfalls and shimmering golden buildings along with what her father called, her 'imaginary friends'. Each time he called them this, she went to bed that night whispering soothingly that she knew they were real, that she believed in them. As the years past, these pictures grew from childish sketches to startlingly detailed depictions of a place she called 'Asgard' and creatures that she spoke of with so much conviction that her brother couldn't not believe in. These creatures included the bilge snipe; a repulsive beast with scales and giant antlers that Leticia surprised Tony with her hatred of and the detail to which she could describe the sheen of its scales. However much disbelief she faced and no matter how much she grew and changed, she never stopped believing in this world and the people she had always dreamed of.

However, these dreams were not the only thing Leticia Stark possessed from the day she was born. Her parents' hearts had almost leapt from their chests when they saw the silver emblem etched into her tiny right wrist. Further research led them to discover that it was a rune of some description and no matter how often they scrubbed at it; it showed no sign of fading. This and several unexplainable events with her at the centre, led Maria and Howard Stark to keep their distance from their youngest child and so Leticia received most of the love in her first years from her elder brother and this, unfortunately set the precedent for the next twenty or so years of her life. So, when Maria and Howard Stark died in a car crash when she was four, it was only natural for her then twenty-one year old brother to take over her upbringing and become both brother and father to a little girl who had already seen him this way from the days where he whispered sweet words as she cried at night.

As it was, Anthony Stark was the only one who believed in what his father had dismissed as childish fairy tales. From her birth on his seventeenth birthday, he had viewed her as a precious gift that he must protect under any circumstances and at the sight of her rejection at the hands of their parents, vowed to find the answer to the silver rune on her wrist and to never treat her as their parents had done. So, in an effort to protect her, he bought her, her first glove embroidered with red, gold and silver vines for her fifth birthday. From then on, unless alone with Tony or at home at night, she never removed it or it's successors as she had promised Tony she wouldn't until the day they found the answer.

This is where our story begins, twenty years later with a brother and sister duo on the verge of the answers they had been searching for, a portal activating in a remote research facility and a war on the horizon.


	2. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, my sincere apologies for vanishing for as long as I did, but life caught up to me and it sucks. Now, here is the first proper chapter of my new story and I hope you all like it. (I'm sorry if it seems too much like a recreation, I felt it was important for setting the scene).

Disclaimer: I do not own any facet of The Avengers including and especially the characters. The only thing I own is my OC; Leticia Stark.

Chapter 1

In a remote research facility in an unknown location, Director Nick Fury stormed across the linoleum floor, his face etched into a dark scowl and his black trench coat billowing behind him. Accompanying the harsh noise of his feet was a wailing alarm, growing in intensity with every moment more that it was blaring through the thin walls of the facility. Muscling his way past scrambling employees to get to his second-in-command and Coulson, he growled, "How bad is it?" They turned to him and Coulson replied, "That's the problem sir we don't know." After a short rushed conversation between the three of them, Fury ordered Hill to get every piece of phase 2 out of the facility and stormed off once again in the direction of the lab. Before he turned the corner, he called over his shoulder, "And make sure Stark doesn't hear about this. I don't need to listen to her brothers caterwauling about our security systems again." With a sigh and a "yes sir," Hill and Coulson set off to complete their individual tasks.

Entering the large lab, Fury stormed straight past all of the complex machines to the glowing blue cube and the doctor stood beside it. "Talk to me, doctor." He barked at the balding doctor Selvig. Selvig turned to him and nodded in acknowledgement. "Director."

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked.  
>"The Tesseract is misbehaving."<br>"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury demanded raising an eyebrow.  
>"No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's...misbehaving."<br>"How soon until you can pull the plug?"  
>"She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level..."<br>"We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space."  
>"We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. In fact, they are even less complete than the last time you asked. A certain someone got into the system again and obviously didn't like what she found. Now the Tesseract's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation."<p>

"That can be harmful." Fury retaliated, thinking of a certain man whose life had been irreversibly changed by gamma radiation. Then his mind processed what the doctor had said. "Again? And she removed your calculations?" At Selvig's nod, he continued. "Do whatever you can to retrieve them; we can't afford to be put even further behind schedule."

Turning to look around the room then, he barked. "Where's Agent Barton?" Selvig gestured over his shoulder.  
>"The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual." Looking up, Fury could indeed see a mousy-haired man perching on the railings of the second floor, watching them from above. Speaking into his ear piece, Director Fury ordered, "Agent Barton, report to me." Attaching his wire, Agent Clint Barton slid down to them and nodded in greeting. "I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things." Fury chastised.<br>**"**Well I see better from a distance, sir."  
><strong>"<strong>Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?" Fury asked, hoping for a breakthrough in terms of what was happening.

Suddenly one of the machines made a strange whirring noise, the readings went through the roof and a scientist rushed forward to talk to Selvig. "Doctor, it's spiking again." Doctor Selvig then rushed to her and began to press buttons and check readings on the machine. Clint turned his back to them and spoke covertly to Fury. "No one's come or gone. Selvig's clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end." Fury's eyebrows raised and he hissed back, glancing quickly at the machine encompassing the cube.** "**At this end?"  
><strong>"<strong>Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides." At that moment, realisation shone in Fury's eyes and a loud bang from the machines accompanied the sudden thrum of the cube as it shot forth a blinding blue light. The blue light spiralled outwards before finally stabilising as a large portal at the other end of the room. Through this portal, thousands of stars could be seen standing out against the midnight black of space.

Moments later, a tall dark-haired slim man stepped through the portal. His dark green and black clothes offset his pale skin and Fury noticed the air of otherworldliness he had about him; from the strange designs on his tunic and the overall oddness of his dress to the slight glowing sheen to his visage. Belatedly, Director Fury noticed a small spear with a shining blue orb in his hand. Aiming his gun, he spoke slowly and cautiously. "Sir, please put down the spear!" The dark-haired stranger glanced between them and his sceptre and a malicious smirk grew on his cold features. Spinning on his heel, he rose to his full height and brandished the sceptre at them. Fury and Barton barely had time to dive out of the way as blue light exploded from the sceptre towards them.

In the aftermath of his explosion, the strangely-dressed man approached the disorientated crouching archer who quickly drew his gun and aimed it at his head. Forcefully grabbing Clint's hand preventing him from firing, he focused for a moment before hissing, "You have heart." Raising his spear, he pressed the head of it against Barton's broad chest, focused his power and watched as Barton's eyes grew foggy and then turned electric blue. Letting go of Barton's hand and stepping back, he watched as Barton straightened and stood at attention. The dark-haired man then turned on his heel and proceeded to repeat the process with several other S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel. Trying to be quiet and go unnoticed, Fury stood and crept to the machine holding the Tesseract. Swearing under his breath, Fury disengaged the cube and tried to slip it silently into his open briefcase and retreat out of the lab without attracting the-weirdo-with-the-magic-stick's attention.

Edging backwards, Director Fury was drawn to a halt when a slippery voice broke through his concentration. "Please don't. I still need that." Fury turned to face him and straightened, raising the briefcase with him. "This doesn't have to get any messier." He placated. The dark-haired man sneered at him in response.  
><strong>"<strong>Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose." Fury started slightly, but tried to look unaffected by that revelation. However, he was slightly confused by the change in situation. "Loki? Brother of Thor?" Fury took Loki's sneer as affirmation. He raised his hands and continued. "We have no quarrel with your people." This statement drew a dark chuckle from Loki.** "**An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Fury raised his eyebrows. "You planning to step on us?" Loki smirked and then began to pace across the linoleum floor. "I come with glad tidings, of a world made free."  
><strong>"<strong>Free from what?"  
><strong>"<strong>Freedom. Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart..." He paused, then twisted round quickly and thrust his spear against the heart of Selvig who had attempted to sneak up behind him. Selvig froze and his eyes frosted over.** "**You will know peace." Fury snorted and took a step closer to Loki.

"Yeah, you say peace, I kind of think you mean the other thing." Clint Barton stepped forward. Fury watched him approach warily. |"Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow. Drop a hundred feet of raw material, he means to bury us." Fury mentally cursed but responded wittily.  
><strong>"<strong>Like The Pharaohs of old." Selvig turned back to the machines and analysed the readings for a moment, then addressed Loki.  
><strong>"<strong>He's right; the portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Loki turned to Barton and commanded.** "**Drop him." Barton reloaded his gun and shot at Fury, sending him falling to the ground away from the briefcase holding the cube. Barton then stepped forwards and grabbed the brief case, before following Loki, Selvig and the other bewitched personnel out of the lab. 

Fifteen minutes later, Fury dives out of the helicopter hurtling for the ground. Standing, he surveyed the damage that the implosion had had; the entire research facility had collapsed and Loki and his cohorts had gotten away with the Tesseract. Suddenly his walkie talkie blared with the panicked tones of Phil Coulson, "Director? Director Fury, do you copy?" Holding his walkie talkie to his mouth, he responded as his scowl grew ever darker. "The Tesseract is with the hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" Moments later, Hill replied in a voice hushed and pained.  
><strong>"<strong>A lot of men still under, don't know how many survivors."  
><strong>"<strong>Sound the general call, I want every living soul not needing rescue looking for that briefcase."  
><strong>"<strong>Roger that."  
><strong>"<strong>Coulson, get back to base. This is a level seven. As of right now, we are at war."  
><strong>"<strong>What do we do?" Phil hesitated, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.

Several hours later, Phil Coulson was on hold. He was rocking backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet, waiting for the sounds of grunting, smacking and general vocalisations of pain to end. Moments later, it was silent on the other end and then Natasha Romanoff spoke. "Where's Barton now?" In Coulson's opinion, she sounded mildly concerned, which coming from a super spy, probably meant she was seriously concerned. "We don't know."  
><strong>"<strong>But he's alive."  
><strong>"<strong>We think so. I'll brief you on everything when you get back. But first, we need you to talk to the big guy." He could hear her snort on the other end and his lips quirked upwards. 

""You know that Stark senior trusts me about as far as he can throw me. Especially if junior is involved."

"As amusing as that would be, I've got the Starks. You've got the big guy." Silence on the other end was his response and then the dial tone. With a sardonic grin, Phil slipped his cell phone into his pocket and muttered a silent prayer that he would walk away from his meeting with the Stark siblings alive.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**Greetings everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and here is my gift to you, a new chapter of Silver Soul. My apologies for the delay between chapters, but I hope to be more consistent in the future. New Year's resolution anyone?**

**Anyway, I shouldn't babble so early on; on with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any facet of The Avengers including and especially the characters. The only thing I own is my OC; Leticia Stark.**

Chapter 2 – Introducing Leticia Maria Stark

In front of a large wall of windows, two redheads stood, talking into a comms unit. One was tall and willowy, with strawberry blonde hair and a business casual look about her, the other was tiny and shapely with vibrant blood red hair, wearing a lean red and silver metal suit and bouncing up and down in excitement. Behind them was a vast living area with a sunken table and sofas at the centre, a bar to one side and a large easel with a half finished painting of the two redheaded women and a dark-haired man sat before the windows. The younger, smaller woman waved her hands before her, pulling up various hologram screens and checking inputs while continuing to vibrate excitedly. The strawberry blonde giggled and spoke into the comms unit. "How close to being ready are you Tony? I fear Leticia may fly out to you and do it herself if you take much longer." The one known as Leticia, rolled her eyes in her direction then returned to looking at the screens and adjusting various measures and inputs. A gruff laugh came to them through the unit and a deep voice followed, "Keep my sister there Pepper, I need her on that end and Lettie, keep your pants on. You're good to go on this end. The rest is up to you." Leticia snorted and tossed her vibrant hair, muttering about brothers and how they were a pain in the ass.

Checking the inputs one last time, she stepped back from the screens and nodded at Pepper. "We're good to go on this end as well." She said, mostly for Tony's benefit. Pepper's face lit up slightly, highlighting her freckles and laughter lines. "You disconnected the transition lines? Are we off the grid?" Leticia turned to her and Pepper could only compare her expression to that of a young child on Christmas day. "Yep," she said grinning. Tony interjected and both females could hear the grin in his voice. "Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self sustaining clean energy. Well...if our dearest Leticia's waterproof design for the reactor actually works and I don't get electrified. I don't think the suit would take that too well." Leticia snorted and scowled out of the window in the direction she knew Tony to be. "Of course it won't fry, I designed the prototype myself!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say baby sis. I guess we're about to find out...so, on with the show. Light her up." Leticia let loose a slight squeal and both she and Pepper move to stand directly before the screens. Muttering technical terms under their breaths, they adjusted several inputs and then Leticia gestured with the trademark Stark grin to what Tony had nicknamed 'the big red button'. "Go on Pep, do the honours. If we keep the boss man waiting any longer he'll fly back here to do it himself!" Pepper's face conveyed surprise and she raised a slightly shaking hand to point at herself. Leticia's features softened and she smiled softly and nodded, displaying to Pepper the secret soft side that she knew both Stark's possessed. Returning the smile, Pepper did as she was told. Both waited for several moments, heads cocked slightly, almost expecting something momentous to happen to signify that it had worked.

From their perch by the window, they watched as the lights of the living area flickered and brightened and the air through the window seemed to glow a little lighter despite the evening hour. Despite this, Pepper tentatively asked Tony, "How does it look?" Tony's response was instantaneous, keeping with his sassy and arrogant personality, "Like Christmas, but with more...me." This prompted an excited murmur from Leticia who spun on her heel and sprinted towards the stairs to the sound of Pepper attempting to talk to (read: placate) Tony and regain her attention.

Bursting through the doors into the ebony night, Leticia snapped her helmet into place over her head and then dived straight over the edge of the launch pad. "Ma'am I must advise you that this is a bad idea. The latest modifications have only just been made to your suit and not adequately tested." Jarvis' voiced intoned through the visor of her suit. With a wild grin on her face, Leticia responded cheekily, "Live a little J.A.R.V.I.S. I'll be fine."

"Yes ma'am. It's your funeral, however. If asked, I shall inform sir that I warned you against this." Lettie laughed an affirmative and spiralled towards the ground at the base of Stark Towers. Pulling up short, she shot back into the starry sky giggling at the gawping faces from the street below and then came to a stop, hovering several metres from the face of Stark Tower. Her mouth popped open and her eyes rounded as she gazed in awe at the light show that her home now presented. While it was no natural beauty, it presented some sort of ostentatious glamour that Leticia often associated with her brother and as such brought forth a warm feeling within her. She was so absorbed in the beauty of the lit building that she failed to notice that her body had begun to glow slightly with a golden shimmer and the suit of red and gold speeding towards her at high velocity.

Moments later, Lettie was startled out of her reverie by a sudden impact that catapulted her across the sky. Twisting in the air to stabilise herself, she peered over her shoulder at her brother who had snuck up upon her. Leticia began to gesture wildly at Tony and the tower in her excitement. "This is awesome Tony, it looks way better than expected. It's a lot brighter than the original calculations indicated it would be." Tony, however, did not respond as favourably as she wished he would as he raised his hands to rest sassily on his hips and began to scold her. "While I am also impressed, I am more pissed off by the fact that you're even out here! How many times do I have to tell you, it's not safe to use your suit until it has been properly tested after modifications! Once again, no unauthorised flight Leticia Maria Stark, what if something had happened? What if your leg hadn't been able to cope?"

Leticia rested her hand upon her brother's shoulder and responded softly, "Tone, I'm okay honestly. I'm still alive and kicking so obviously the latest mods did no harm. Besides, you have to get over your sister complex at some point, brother. I am 25 now; I'm not a child anymore." The exasperated intonation of this final statement suggested that this was a frequent conversation between the siblings. Sensing that this had only heightened her brother's irritation, Leticia began the flight back to the penthouse with the sound of Tony grumbling behind her and J.A.R.V.I.S. smugly telling her, "I told you so."

Leticia span onto her back so as to face the sky and began to mentally list all of the stars she recognised in the sky. The moon was high and full that night, sending shivers down her spine. Nearing the penthouse, Leticia swam past the windows waving jauntily at an open-mouthed Pepper who hesitatingly waved back, before bursting into raucous laughter moments later, she was so used to the Stark siblings' antics that little now fazed her. Coming to rest on the launch pad, Leticia made her way slowly back inside as J.A.R.V.I.S. removed her suit, revealing a faded paint splashed t-shirt and mid-thigh exercise shorts also paint stained. "It's awesome Pep," she called down the stairs. "Do you want me to fly you out to look at it?" Pepper pulled a face that Leticia took to mean – 'not bloody likely'. "Eh, I think I'll pass Lettie. Thank you sooo much for the offer, but I'm perfectly happy looking at it from the sidewalk when I head out for my flight later." Leticia barked a laugh at her facial expression, but conceded with a shrug. Pepper glanced behind Leticia who had now joined her, "where's Prince Charming?"

"Probably still admiring his monument...or attempting to regain his usual cool and cocky attitude."

"What did you do?" Pepper questioned, raising a strawberry blonde eyebrow.

"Nothing, I swear. He is just having one of his over protective brother moments again. He'll get over it soon enough."

"Lettie, you can't really blame him. After your accident, he has no way of-" Leticia cut across her with a snort.

"My accident was years ago Pepper and you know it. You also know that he has been like this with me most of our lives." With a casual wave of her hand, Leticia deemed the conversation to be over and stalked away to her easel, tying her vibrant hair up in a band and raising a pair of red headphones over her ears as she went. Pepper watched her walk away, shaking her head with an amused smile on her face. However, her attention was grabbed by the elder Stark sibling as he sauntered through the doors, smirking wickedly. Lettie glanced over her shoulder at them and snorted as they mooned at each other and flirted wildly. 'Gross,' she thought, returning to her painting of her makeshift family; herself, her brother and her brother's girlfriend.

Leticia began bobbing her head along to ACDC as she blended up the exact colour on her palette to match the light intensity given off by the arc reactor powered energy line. So absorbed was she by this that the first inkling she had of Phil Coulson's arrival was a round fruit colliding with the back of her head, courtesy of Anthony Stark. Turning quickly, she scowled at her brother, removed her headphones and put down her palette. Then, quick as lightning she whipped up the orange and lobbed it at Tony's smug, fat face. "Oi, what was that for?" She hissed at him, before noticing the dark-haired suited man who had obviously just entered the apartment through the elevator. "Oh, hey Phil," she said, grinning foxily and waving. Tony looked rather affronted at this and said,

"Phil? Phil? Not you too. His first name is Agent, not Phil." Leticia laughed and shook her head at his overprotective attitude. She patted her brother on the shoulder (whose mouth was slightly open and he was simultaneously scowling – quite a feat in her opinion), winked at Pepper, then moved to stand before Phil. "So, why are you here Coulson? Is it something to do with the meltdown at that research facility last night?" Tony, still uncomfortable with the nearness between his little sister and one of Fury's lackeys, moved to stand slightly protectively in front of her. Leticia and Pepper rolled their eyes at each other and Phil Coulson had to cough a slight laugh into his hand to disguise it. Then, he processed what she said and his head cracked rapidly in her direction, mouth falling open. "How do you know about that? Wait, don't answer that, I don't really want to know. The short answer to your question is yes and that brings me to why I'm in your glowing penthouse. We need you both to look this over." With this, Phil brandished a file at the Stark siblings and Tony scoffed.

"I don't like being handed things." Leticia laughed and moved forwards to take it, but Tony lifted up a hand to stop her. The youngest Stark sibling looked to Pepper in a cry for help to save her from her obstinate brother. Pepper nodded at her and stepped forwards. "That's alright, cause I love to be handed things. So let's trade." Reaching towards Agent Coulson, she traded her champagne glass for his file and then took Tony's glass from him and gave him the file. Pepper laughed as Tony pouted as she retreated away with his champagne. It was at this moment that Leticia actually noticed the alcohol in their glasses and she let forth a cry of protest. "Hey, you greedy bugger, why didn't you give me any?" Tony raised an eyebrow at her in a clear expression of 'is this really the time?' and she scowled at him in return, snagging the file from him. Leticia skipped away to their computer screens with Tony hot on her heels, bantering with Phil.

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday."

"This isn't a consultation." Pepper interrupted at this point as Tony had begun a tug of war with his sister over the file.

"Is this about The Avengers? Which I...I know nothing about." Phil raised his brow at that, clearly showing his lack of belief in that hesitative statement. This drew both Stark siblings attention away from their tug of war and with a final vicious tug; he wrenched it from his sister and responded, "The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify."

"I did." Leticia interjected with a wry smirk for her brother.

"I didn't know that either." Pepper spoke again, shrugging at Phil.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others."

"Oh and I'm apparently also volatile, selfless and of a calibre and genius rarely seen, with a better disposition than my brother."

"That I did know." Pepper said, referring to the personality profiles of both siblings.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Phil concluded and his face took on a dark shadow and fear glittered in his dark eyes.

"Whatever." Tony remarked, slightly unsettled by Phil's sudden change in disposition. "Miss Potts, got a minute?" Pepper moved gracefully to stand by Tony and Leticia returned to stand before Phil with a faux-disgusted look on her face. "Great, now they're going to flirt some more. Honestly, I need a dog or something; anything to distract myself from their barf worthy displays." She jeered good-naturedly.

"Why don't you get a man for yourself? Then you could have the pleasure of watching your brother spend every moment of his life thinking up gruesome ways for him to suffer and die." Phil joked back.

"Tried that. It wasn't nearly as amusing as I had hoped." Phil let out a sharp laugh at the mental image that provided and was startled by the sudden sound of Tony's voice. "Oi, Coulson. No flirting with my sister!" Both turned to see Tony glaring fiercely at them together and both thought, 'If looks could kill, Phil/I would be dead'. "Besides Lettie, I thought you would want to see this." With his attempt at dramatic suspense complete, Tony flourished a hand at the file, spreading the profiles included onto the screens surrounding him. Struck by a sudden curiosity, Leticia rushed over to stand beside him and analyse the images. She stood for several moments, analysing the profile of Bruce Banner and the images and videos attached. She was particularly intrigued by the video of his transformation into the Hulk and watched it 3 times over before moving onto the next profile. While she was doing this, Tony was absorbed in the other profiles, and especially the background information on the Initiative. However, his attention was drawn back to his sister moments later.

Taking in the profile before her, she froze, clinging to her right wrist. The colour drained out of Leticia's cheeks and she raised a shaking finger to point at one image in particular. "Tony!" Her voice shook tremulously. Tony turned quickly and he too went stark white.

**A/N**

**So here we have it, another chapter. Sorry for the several weeks in between, I've had some family...things. I hope you found this chapter enjoyable and hope to churn out another one soon. **

**I'd really appreciate any reviews to hear what you guys think of my story so far (so basically the idea, as this chapter is the true beginning in a sense), but reviews would be very much appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think of Lettie as a character as well and who knows maybe your lovely reviews would give me motivation =P. I'm kidding, but it would be nice. **

**Anyway, enough of my babble. See you next time.**

**Highflyer0603,**

**Over and out.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N **

**Hello everyone, here is the latest chapter. I apologise for not keeping to a solid schedule, life is a bit too hectic to commit to one at this point, although I hope to in the future. Thank you to the people who reviewed/favourite/followed this story since the last chapter. I would love more reviews if you would be so kind and I don't mind awfully if they contain criticism because that will help me improve; so let it rip, I don't bite...I promise. **

**On with the show.**

Chapter 3 – Where Phil Coulson gets a headache

The Stark siblings stood side by side, both stark white and shaking slightly. Phil and Pepper looked at each other, confused slightly, but Pepper's confusion was short lived as she joined them by the screen and instantly recognised what she was looking at. Everyone in the room was startled as Tony recovered from his speechlessness and began to swear fluently...in several languages. Tony dragged his hands through his short brown hair, tugging it desperately and he began pacing, remaining close to his sister the entire time. Leticia turned to him and opened and closed her mouth several times, before reaching out and clinging to his arm. "Tony," she stuttered. "It-it-it's him." Tony paused in his pacing at the sound of his sister's voice and his heart ached at the sight of her. Her normally smiling and bright face was pale and her usual confident aura had turned vulnerable. Looking at her now, he was reminded of the tiny child who often crept into his bed after having had a nightmare...or a dream about them. Pepper interrupted his mournful reverie with a confused, "but how is that possible? They can't possibly truly exist. I mean, not really." Both siblings turned to her with hurt shining in their eyes and did not respond.

Phil Coulson moved forward to stand behind the Stark's, curious as to what had shaken the unshakable duo up so badly. The image in particular that had initially disturbed Leticia was one of a rather large blond haired man, dressed in odd clothing, wielding a hammer. Phil knew this to be Thor, an Asgardian God, however he could tell from their reactions that the Stark siblings did not know him as such, but that they recognised him and feared him in a sense. Before Phil could comment on this, he noticed the other smaller image also on his profile. It appeared to him to be a runic symbol, but Phil did not truly recognise it. "How do you guys know Thor?" He asked them. Both heads - one brown, one red - shot up faster than he thought possible. "Thor?" They asked simultaneously. "Yeah, that guy." He said motioning to the picture. "That guy is Thor, Asgardian, and God of Thunder. He caused S.H.I.E.L.D. some issues a while back, levelled a small town, that kind of thing. So, how do you know him?" The siblings stared at each other for several moments, and then their eyes flickered from Phil to the screens and then back to each other, before they bent their heads together and spoke in hushed rushed tones. After a while of this, Leticia stepped away from her brother with a decisive, yet nervous nod. As she approached him, Phil glanced over her shoulder at her brother who looked reluctantly resigned with heavy set frown lines and clenched fists.

Stood before Phil, Leticia gulped before speaking, "Just listen to everything we have to say okay Phil, no matter how insane it sounds." With this said, she clutched the end of the embroidered glove that Phil had never seen her without and slipped it from her right hand. Phil had to resist the urge to rub his eyes as he could have sworn he saw the embroidered vines move before the glove broke free from her hand. However, before he could see what the glove concealed, Tony rushed forwards and clamped his hand around his sister's wrist. "You have to swear! You can tell NO ONE. You understand? No one, especially Fury is to find out. All but two of the living people who know are in this room. We have only decided to tell you because if we didn't you'd likely make inquiries that would alert the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D." At Phil's nod, Tony let go of his sister's wrist and stepped back, standing by her side.

Taking this as her cue, Leticia raised her right arm, placing her wrist on display. The shock on his face would have made Tony laugh on any other day as he watched Phil look dumbfounded between his sister's wrist and the screen showing this 'Thor' repeatedly. "But how is that possible? Is it a tattoo?" Phil stuttered out after several moments. "Uh no, Phil. I've had it from birth. We deduced it was a rune, but we know little more than that about it and well we have never seen it anywhere else before, so we don't understand why it is on that profile either." Leticia said as she too stared down at her wrist where a silver rune was etched into her skin, matching the rune displayed on 'Thor's' profile. She glanced up through her eyelashes at Phil's confused face, before summing up the courage to continue. "Um, Phil? That isn't everything. In fact, we have barely scratched the surface of weird." Phil's countenance turned disbelieving at that, as if nothing was weirder than a rune etched into a newborn baby's wrist.

Moving away from him, – but not replacing her glove – Leticia scrambled to a picture that Phil hadn't noticed that was around the corner from the elevator. Watching as she pressed a finger to an indiscriminate flower on the frame, he was surprised when the picture popped open and she disappeared behind it; although she could still be heard rooting through something. Moments later, Leticia reappeared with a bulging, red sketchbook and a sombre half-smile. Placing it on the sunken table, she flicked through it with a body full of tension, as if she were resisting the urge to hide it away from him once again. Tony crossed the shiny floor near silently, coming to a stop by his sister to rest his hand on her shoulder in comfort. Phil was slightly taken aback at the intensity in his eyes as he peered up at him. "Alright Coulson, this is where it gets weird." He muttered resignedly. It was at this point that Coulson finally lost it. "Look Stark Sr, Stark Jr, I'm ready for this. Now, stop trying to put it off and just tell me!" The other occupants of the room appeared surprised at his loss of temper, but acquiesced.

Spinning the sketchbook to face him, Phil was shocked to see incredibly detailed water colour drawings of Thor; they were so life-like in fact that if he hadn't been looking so closely at them, he may have mistaken them for photographs. Looking to Leticia for permission, he began to flick through the rest of the sketchbook, seeing shimmering golden buildings and otherworldly landscapes and people drawn with a precision not dissimilar to those first drawings of Thor. However, what caught him the most was the date on the cover page of the sketchbook; 2000. Due to his colleague/friend relationship with Leticia, Phil knew that this must have made her thirteen when she drew these if the notation was to be believed. Attempting to diffuse the tension before demanding explanations, he said, "I don't suppose you fancy putting those incredible drawing skills to use by drawing a portrait of me, do you?" This got him a grin of thanks in return and he saw the tension in her shoulders drop slightly, before she gave her explanation. "From when I was a young child I have had strange dreams. These dreams feature the people seen before you in that sketchbook...and the many others I have filled and the land of 'Asgard', as I named it instinctively when I was 10. I have seen many things you would not believe in the existence of. I have seen an entire world in the nights since I was a young child and I have grown to know and love the people seen before you, despite never having met them or heard them speak. My own parents branded me insane and put distance between us; I suppose the combination of my brand and my dreams was too much for them." At this part, Tony hugged his sister tightly, unable to cope with seeing her so desolate over their parents mistreatment. Phil couldn't help but suspect that there was a good deal more to that part of the story, but stayed silent waiting for her to continue. Tony took over at this point, passing his sister off to Pepper to comfort. "No matter how hard we have tried, we have never been able to discover why or who those people were. Nobody knew or was willing to admit they knew. Sorry mate, but discovering that the place and people she has dreamed about all her life are actually real and within reach is a bit overwhelming for us both. I mean, I always believed in my sister, but it's one thing to just believe something is real and quite another to discover something is factually real." Tony shrugged at this and went silent.

Phil Coulson was an ordinary bloke really, he had had no taste of the extraordinary until he began working at S.H.I.E.L.D. and everyone had been surprised to discover that despite this, he had an abnormally high tolerance for the extraordinary. As he mused over this new load of information, he decided that it would probably be much harder to swallow if the existence of other worlds and their inhabitants hadn't already been confirmed for him through the Thor incident. This was ironic to him, considering this particular extraordinary Stark secret concerned Thor and his home world of Asgard. Oh, Phil wasn't stupid, he knew there were things that the Starks weren't telling him and decided that quite frankly he didn't want to know. Coming to the conclusion that although dreaming of the existence of another world and its inhabitants was very weird, it could have been a lot weirder, Phil decided that there was only one question he really wanted to ask of them. Coming out of his contemplative reverie to see both Stark siblings and Pepper watching him in anticipation, he asked, "So what are you going to about this?"

The Stark siblings looked agape at each other as if they had not considered this and exclaimed simultaneously; "nothing!" It was Phil's turn to look agape at this, as he had just heard that the siblings had spent her lifetime looking for answers, yet now they had the opportunity to find the answers they sought, were turning it down. Phil supposed that this was human nature – to fear the unknown; neither Stark sibling knew and they feared finding out. Phil gave them a sympathetic smile that they both scowled at and asked, "Why not?" It was Tony that gave him his answer.

"We do not know what they want with her and especially with people from another planet, it is better to be safe than sorry. I will not lose my sister...again." Tony was far more serious than Phil had ever seen him be in the past and he watched as Tony appeared to be mentally kicking himself for his slip of the tongue. Noticing the shift in Tony's emotional climate and how uncomfortable Leticia suddenly looked, he decided he had probably overstayed his welcome. However, this was not before glancing at her leg and concluding that that probably played a good bit into Tony's slip of the tongue. "Well, I should probably be going; I'm not quite finished with my business for the day just yet. I promise to keep your secrets and I won't go meddling with your wish to stay silent on the matter. I will be your ally in this though and I hope you find your answers someday soon." With this, he made his way to the elevator, only stopping to wait for Pepper Potts who rushed after him with a large bag after speaking quietly with the Starks for a few moments and hugging and kissing them goodbye. Leaving the withdrawn siblings behind him, he had no idea how soon, soon would come.

Sighing deeply and running his hands through his brown hair, Tony embraced his sister tightly; murmuring hushed placations into her trembling body. Forcing her to sit on the sofas, he retained one arm around her, but used the other to summon the holographic screens before them in the hopes of distracting her and allowing her to regain composure. Drawing her attention to one screen in particular, Tony cited a bunch of technical nonsense about the fluctuation in the buildings energy levels. At hearing something related to her job, Leticia raised her head and began to draw herself from her shell, correcting him and making changes of her own. Allowing a fond smile to grow on his face, Tony gazed down at his sister as she regained animation.

_Of all the moments Tony could recall pertaining to his sister, the one that struck him at this moment was of a little eight-year-old Leticia on a seemingly ordinary night. She had crept into his room and shaken him from a deep sleep, sobbing in a muted fashion; attempting to not disturb their parents. The image that stuck with him most profoundly from that night was of the moment he opened heavy eyes to see his baby sister weeping with reddened eyes and clutching a toy bunny tightly to her chest. " 'ony?" she whispered and he opened his arms wide, swaddling her in the warm comfort his body provided. "What's wrong, Lennie-bear?" Tony spoke soothingly into her tangled red locks. Taking the comfort he provided, Leticia began to bawl into his shoulder and whimper nonsensical words into his shoulder. It took a long time of rubbing her back, whispering encouraging words and cuddling her tightly, but eventually Tony got the answers he wanted...and his blood ran cold._

_She told him of how blood had rained from the sky and bodies lay immobile and dismembered on a frozen ground. The moon was high in the sky and stars glittered, yet there was no warmth there, only sadness, despair and grief. A war had been waged here and as with all wars, there was no true winner. The few survivors picked through their dead, combing for any sign of life, but the further they went the more they mourned; there was no life – nothing could survive in a place such as that. The mutilated corpses bore no resemblance to the people they were in life, the only way to ascertain who they were would be with the runic symbols etched into their clothes in three different places for circumstances such as these. The only sounds in that hollow land were the sound of warriors weeping in grief and cussing in Norse in anger and disgust at the savage treatment of their people. One warrior in particular stood out. His hulking body was knelt in the centre of the battlefield and his blond head was bowed. Whispering Norse prayers, he clutched a heavy silver hammer tightly in his meaty hands and although his own wounds were great and he was drenched in blood – both his own and others – he was more interested in his lost people and giving their souls safe passage to Valhalla. It was to the final image of his hooded and bloodstained face that Leticia had jerked awake at and gone seeking the comfort of her elder brother, desperate for comfort after seeing things no child should ever see. _

"Tony...Tony...Tony." Said man jerked and gazed unseeingly at his younger sister who was staring at him in concern. He shook his head at her unasked question and ruffled her hair, before returning to their 'homework'. As he worked he thought to himself, 'I'll take care of you, Lettie. I won't ever let this guy hurt you, I promise. We'll get our answers though, but hopefully without much contact with that titan, yeesh.' Pondering for a moment, one thing stuck out to him. 'How the hell have they hidden him and his 'destruction' from us? I've combed everything interesting looking in the S.H.I.E.L.D. databanks for the last couple of years and I know Lettie does the same, even more so because she's on their official payroll. So they must have put it under something innocuous, something no prying eyes would find interesting enough to look at. Sons-of-bitches, for once we are actually lacking information we need.' Opening up Thor's profile, he looked over it with a fine tooth comb, but it gave nothing away that they or Coulson had not known. 'From now on I'm reading all S.H.I.E.L.D. files, no matter how boring they seem. Who knows what else they could be hiding? Firstly though, how much danger would involving ourselves in this bring to Lettie?' Tony continued musing as he focused again on the screen before him, sharing information and consolidating with Leticia. The night continued like this for a long while.

Both siblings were exhausted and under the light of the daunting full moon, the younger sister closes her eyes and falls prey to the dark, leaning against the elder brother who soldiers on, eyelids fluttering well into the night.

**A/N**

**I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Please inform me of your delightful opinions (begging) and I hope you look forward to the next instalment of Silver Soul. Until next time, my fellow fanfiction readers/authors.**

**Highflyer0603,**

**Over and out.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**I present the latest chapter of Silver Soul and hope you enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who favourite/followed/reviewed this story since the last update and I hope you continue to do so. **

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 4 – The Choice **

Rousing from his slumber, Tony Stark began to grumble incoherently and waving his hand weakly in the direction of the beeping noise that awoke him. As .V.I.S. would say, he was not a morning person and this was displayed when his hand finally met his beeping phone and he flung it across the room. Shifting in an effort to become comfortable, he noticed a weight on his arm and that the bed wasn't as soft and malleable as it normally was. With a start, he realised he was not in his bedroom. Dragging open his heavy eyes, Tony peered at the added weight and saw nothing but red. At this, he remembered the events of the night before and groaned; he had hoped that was truly just a bad dream. Reaching forwards in an attempt to centre himself, he ran his fingers through his sister's vibrant tresses and then attempted to dislodge her from where she was leaning heavily on him so as to regain feeling in his arm. Raising himself onto his feet, Tony gently laid his still slumbering sister back onto the sofa and stretched, popping his stiff back and shaking his deadened arm.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. what time is it?" He called into the still room.

"8:32 am Sir." Came back the British-toned response, "The bathroom is prepared for your morning routine Sir." As he moved to the elevator, Tony could have sworn he heard the shower start. "Thank you J.A.R.V.I.S." As the doors shut on him, he caught a glimpse of Lettie stirring on the sofa. Exiting the elevator, he grumbled groggily to himself as he entered his now steaming bathroom, wishing desperately for a cup of coffee.

Leticia rolled onto her back, groaning as the sound of the elevator filled her ears. Opening her eyes half-mast, she slowly dragged herself to her feet and over to the coffee machine. Half-asleep, she filled two mugs with piping hot coffee and stumbled towards the elevator. "Morning J.A.R.V.I.S." She said huskily, attempting to rub her eyes with the back of her arm whilst juggling the mugs of coffee. "Morning ma'am," he returned his voice as cheery as always. She growled at his tone and in that moment looked so much like her brother that any onlooker would have laughed uproariously. Exiting the elevator on their floor, Lettie popped her head into Tony's bathroom – carefully keeping her eyes averted from the occupied shower- and placed the hand decorated mug portraying his likeness on the sleek black counter. Grunting in response to his call of thanks, she made the trek down the hall to her own bathroom to prepare for what was sure to be another long day.

Emerging from the bathroom approximately half an hour later, Leticia hobbled down the hallway towards her vividly painted door robed in an emerald towel and rubbing her hair vigorously. "Ma'am?" Lettie raised her head at the sound of J.A.R.V.I.S' voice.

"Yes J.A.R.V.I.S?"

"Shall I call for Mr Stark to provide you with assistance, ma'am?"

"No thank you J.A.R.V.I.S, I think I'll be alright for a little while longer. However, please can you inform my brother that I'll be heading down to the workshop as soon as I'm dressed, it needs a few tweaks and to be re-oiled?"

"Of course ma'am."

"Thanks Jar," she said, slipping through her vibrant scenery covered door into the warm comfort of her bedroom. Leticia still hadn't gotten truly comfortable with this room, despite its beauty. It was spacious, yet retained a warm homey comfort. The walls were hand painted by her with forest scenes and the ceiling covered in an accurate canopy of the stars. Stepping further into the room, she curled her toes into the downy pale green carpet and watched as the pearly drapes that covered the floor to ceiling windows fluttered slightly. A large walk-in closet and an oak bookcase lined one wall, while a grand mahogany bed draped in an emerald duvet was the centre of the wall opposite. Either side of this bed were several shelves laden with an assortment of art supplies and various knickknacks obtained from either sibling's travels.

Staggering into her walk-in closet, Leticia dressed in her typical workshop outfit; knee-length dungarees, a plain black t-shirt and her trademark embroidered white gloves, before battling her soaked hair into a bun and retreating from her room once more. Stumbling back down the corridor, she shrugged off J.A.R.V.I.S' repeated concerns as to her ability to make it to the workshop without assistance and re-entered the elevator, selecting the workshop floor (affectionately named Stark Central by Pepper). Pepper would always find it hilarious that when they moved into the tower, the floor they had insisted on being completed internally first was the workshop floor; they had filled it with state-of-the-art equipment and some good old-fashioned kit at Leticia's insistence, choosing to spend most of their free time holed up in there listening to rock and metal music. Both siblings often fell asleep slumped over their workbenches and Pepper regularly had J.A.R.V.I.S. photograph them doing so in order to have evidence to argue her point that they worked too hard.

Tony wandered into the workshop a while later to see his sister hard at work adjusting her sleek metal leg. At the side of it separated from her body and her scarred stump where her right leg ended just below her knee, Tony was overtaken by a rush of emotion and flashes filled his mind. He saw a tiny adolescent covered in blood and screaming in agony to the sound of guns and vicious fighting in the background. He saw himself crying out in pain and anger, desperate to reach her; clawing past friend and foe to reach his stolen sister. He saw himself and Rhodey retching at the side of her ruined leg and weak clutch on life. He saw himself watching her sleep, intent on keeping his intense eyes on her at all times so as to never lose her again. Finally, he saw himself, more than a decade younger, bent over a workbench and intently working on a metal carcass, tuning it to perfection and making it shift itself slightly. The memories rose in a painful cacophony, blinding him to the perfectly healthy picture his tiny sister now presented. He only saw her, broken and torn, pale and haggard against the starch white bed that encompassed her. Time had healed most of her physical wounds, but still, even after 12 years, not a day went by where fear did not clutch at his chest and shorten his breath. Shaking himself from his reverie, he approached his sister.

Ruffling her crimson hair, he plucked her from her chair gently saying, "That is my project you're messing with, dearest Lettie. If you want to work on something, the mark 7 still needs work." Leticia rolled her eyes at him, knowing full well how possessive he could be over things he made or loved. "Just because you made it, doesn't mean that I can't adjust it when it gets out of whack." She sighed when his face turned hard and he raised an eyebrow. "Fine, fine. Go on then genius, it's all yours." Tony lifted her higher and then set her into the wheelchair they kept in the lab for convenient purposes. Rolling herself over to a workbench still covered in parts of the mostly constructed mark 7 prototype armour, Leticia resumed construction.

A while later, she was shocked out of her intense concentration by her brother's voice; "So, should we stay or should we go?" He asked, attempting to juggle his casual light-hearted tone and a rarely used serious edge.

"I don't know, I mean on the one hand, they actually seem like they want our help, but on the other; it could be more dangerous than it's worth."

"This would be a kickass opportunity to have Fury owe us I suppose...and we'd get to meet our idol; Bruce Banner." Leticia giggled suddenly.

"Both of those are true advantages, brother. However, there is one big issue." The hesitation in her voice wiped the smirk from his face.

"We don't know what is going on with that 'Thor' guy. Hell, we have no clue about anything relating to this Asgard." He snarled suddenly, his emotions spiking. "I can't protect you from something I don't understand and we have no idea what their intentions are towards you! Maybe all those dreams were an attempt to lure you in so you'd be easier to steal away." Sensing his rising agitation and all of the possible dangers to her spiralling in his mind, she called out to him loudly.

"TONY! Its okay I understand. Maybe, just maybe, we need some answers. Maybe then we will actually be able to understand what is happening here. You can protect me Tony, I'm safe, I promise." To anyone else, he would have seemed irrational, but she saw his haunted eyes and knew he had never recovered from what had happened to her all those years ago.

"I know, I just...I don't like to be the one left in the dark. I'm using the one leading others around blind, but now I'm the blind one and I hate it! I'm as curious as you are and so I want answers, but at what price? Once we have them, will we wish we had never asked the questions in the first place?" He ran his hands through his hair, clearly at a loss. Leticia smiled softly at him, understanding his reasoning and thought process with perfect clarity.

Tony shook his head roughly and sighed loudly before rising to his feet and trudging over to his sister, carrying her prosthetic leg delicately. Kneeling before her, he checked her stump diligently before beginning to reattach her leg. "It sounds interesting, their problem I mean, but it doesn't all add up. I can't get to all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'S secure files, but they are definitely hiding something." Leticia patted him on the head and smiled warmly.

"I know what you mean, Tony. Dad fished that tesseract out of the ocean and years later he regretted it. There has to be a reason and maybe that same reason is what has caused all of this issue now." Tony scowled darkly at the mention of their father and snarled something derogatory under his breath. Leticia rolled her eyes at his animosity in return.

"So, what are you saying?"

"I think we should do it. If we get in too deep, we can always back out. We will be safe either way Tony, but maybe it's better to be safe and know what we're dealing with than not." No matter how hard he tried to formulate a rebuttal, he knew he could not fault her logic. Rubbing his eyes, he rose to his feet and nodded wearily. "Okay, you win. We'll do it your way, but I'm still in charge here. Any sign of serious danger to you and we're out." Leticia groaned internally, knowing that arguing she was no longer a child would have no use. She couldn't wait till she got a serious boyfriend; he would have an apoplectic fit. Giving in to his intense expression, she nodded jerkily.

Tony's face smoothed over slightly and he rose to his feet, holding his hands out for his sister to take. "Come on sister dear; let's take that leg for a test drive." Leticia took his hands and shakily rose from her wheelchair, standing still for a moment to regain her balance and adjust. "Now, you know the drill, walk slowly with me. J.A.R.V.I.S. monitor her vitals, alert me immediately of any spikes or surges."

"Yes sir. You are good to go."

"Thanks J.A.R.V.I.S."

Tony led Leticia slowly across the workshop floor, watching her face carefully for any sign of discomfort or pain. They took several laps of the room before J.A.R.V.I.S. declared that her vitals were stable and the adjustments to the leg caused no negative difference in her body. "Well Lettie, I suppose that since we've agreed to join this freak show, we should get packing and form a plan." Linking his arm with hers he led her out of the workshop, humming 'we're off to see the wizard' as they went. Walking with her to her bedroom, he stood for a moment watching the door close behind her before entering his own bedroom to pack.

Leticia stood before her bed, holding a Stark duffel bag containing several changes of clothes, a spare pair of gloves and her homemade leg maintenance kit. Biting her lip, Lettie stared at her bulging shelves, contemplating whether or not to take some of her art supplies with her. Sighing in defeat, Leticia moved to her shelves and scooped up a barely started sketch book, some pencils and a piece of charcoal. Returning to her bag, she added a small tool kit and her laptop, just in case. Zipping up her bag and then resting on the edge of the bed, Leticia cast her mind back to the blond 'Thor's' face. She had never anticipated him being real, never actually believed the day would come where she would see him in the flesh. She felt an attachment to him that she did not understand and that terrified her. Clutching her covered wrist, Leticia exhaled loudly and calmed herself.

Slinging her duffle bag onto her shoulder, Leticia took one last long look at her sanctuary and then shut the door softly behind her before approaching her brother who was leaning against his door frame. Laughing slightly, Lettie gestured at the identical bag swinging from his shoulder. Tony sniggered in return and gestured for her to walk down the hall in front of him.

Throwing himself onto the sofa downstairs, Tony dropped his bag on the floor and watched as his sister approached the picture vault on the wall and removed two bulging sketchbooks; one, the red book from the disastrous night before and the other an ordinary looking black sketchbook. She grinned sheepishly at him before joining him on the sofa and placing them in her bag. "I want to take them just in case. Just in case we need to...you know, prove it. These could help us get our answers." He smiled at her understandingly, but said nothing. Lettie shifted towards him and leant into his shoulder. They sat there for a while, before the elevator doors opened and a small tray on wheels was propelled across the floor towards them. Lifting the contents, Tony discovered that J.A.R.V.I.S. had sent up several pieces of kit from their workshop.

"Thanks Jar," Tony called.

"You are welcome sir. May I suggest you prepare to leave soon in order to reach S.H.I.E.L.D'S destination at the same time as them." Came J.A.R.V.I.S' robotic voice.

"Thank you J.A.R.V.I.S, please get the suits ready for us to leave," Tony asked with a small smirk.

"Oh and J.A.R.V.I.S. please can you finish work on the Mark 7 while we are gone?" Leticia piped in.

"Of course, sir, madam, it would be my pleasure." Both siblings offered up words of thanks and then Tony turned to his sister.

"So, shall we go over the plan one more time, dearest sister?"

**A/N**

**Here is the latest chapter of Silver Soul. I hope you have enjoyed it; although I apologise for the lack of action again. The action truly begins next chapter, I promise. I contemplated combining the two, but decided it was better to separate.**

**Please give me feedback on my writing and the story; I love criticism, so fire away! The next chapter should be up soon, maybe a week or two, so keep your eyes open.**

**Thank you for reading.**

**HighFlyer0603,**

**Over and out.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**I present to you, my humble readers, the latest chapter of Silver Soul. Your continued interest in this story is much appreciated and I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. I kick butt, I said two weeks and this is exactly two weeks! **

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 5 – A Party in Stuttgart **

The ostentatious hall was glistening and abuzz with the sound of laughter and pleasant chatter in Stuttgart, Germany. A museum gala was well under way and identical sheep in shimmering frocks danced across the floor, happy in the haze of their wealth. One woman stood out with her almost violently red hair and emerald gown. The sleeves cut off halfway down her arms and a bow cinched it off at the waist, showing off her figure before it flowed into a full skirt down to her knees. In her delicate yet calloused hands she held a flute glass and sipped from it with rosebud lips. The diminutive woman cast sharp blue eyes around the crowded gala, smiling carefully at people who glanced her way and exchanged pleasantries with those who approached her.

One man in particular kept his eyes on her as he twirled past her with his horse faced companion. She was steadfastly distracted from her perusal of the room by his bushy handlebar moustache and twinkling eyes. Disengaging himself from his partner at the next song change, the slightly portly man crossed the floor to reach her. "Hallo madam, I apologise for staring at you like that, however, I must know; are you the infamous Leticia Stark? My name is Ulrich Wolfgang and if I have been correct in my assumptions as to your identity, I am a very big fan of your work." Reaching out, he bent his greying head over her outstretched hand. Smiling shyly, the redheaded Leticia nodded.

"Greetings Mr Wolfgang, I am indeed Leticia Stark. Forgive me, but would you happen to be the same Mr Wolfgang who originally approached me with the intention of obtaining several pieces of my artwork for this very museum, a few months back?"

"Yes, my dear child that was me. I must say, they look marvellous in their gilded frames. In fact, I was wondering if you would be interested in a special commission on behalf of the museum. Shall we dance and discuss business?"

"Yes, of course." Leticia smiled softly, before making to place her glass on a nearby waiter's tray.

"No, no. Let me do it, I shall be just a moment." He returned, taking it from her grasp. Watching his retreat Leticia sighed shortly and ran a hand through her hair. She was startled by the sudden sound of her brother's voice in her ear. "What the hell do you think you're doing Lettie? You're supposed to be on the lookout for our target, not making small talk with a client." Sighing once again at his waspish tone, she hissed back softly, "I know what I'm doing Tone, I'll blend in better if I'm associating with someone, trust me. Keep to the plan, I'll tell you when I see him." Tony snorted in return, but remained silent.

As she waited, Leticia mused over the events of a few hours previously. While planning out their attack, they had reached a minor snag...they had no idea how to find their target. "So we just stalk S.H.I.E.L.D. until they find him and then we just get there first...or concurrently, whichever works best." Tony mused quietly with his head resting on his hand. They sat there for a moment, before Leticia unconsciously slipped her glove from her hand and clutched her rune mark. A name and a place flashed into her mind unbidden. "Stuttgart, Germany." She said certain. Tony stared at her agog, before nodding hesitantly. Although she kept the name quiet, she privately wondered who 'Heimdall' was.

A large smooth hand thrust in her face was her only warning of Ulrich's return. Taking his hand, she allowed him to lead her onto the floor, where they twirled and waltzed, skilfully dodging the other guests. 'He is rather spry on his feet for his size,' she mused, carefully maintaining the correct amount of distance between them. "So, Miss Stark, the museum is intending on doing a renaissance exhibit in late summer/early fall and we were hoping you would design a centrepiece for us to use for promotional purposes. In fact, we would desire several pieces, in order to display the contrast between modern and period renaissance works."

"This sounds very interesting, Mr Wolfgang. Of course, I shall have to consult my brother; Tony Stark, and my schedule before committing to anything, but it sounds like wonderful work. Please, tell me more?" Ulrich smiled at her, enthused by her keen response, before proceeding to give her further details as they continued to dance. Leticia listened half-heartedly to his explanations as she scrutinized the floor for their slippery tongued target. The dark-haired man had featured in less of her dreams than the blond-haired one, but she still knew his face well. She had felt agony for him each time he had been overlooked and joy, each time his childish need had been fulfilled and he received the affection he sought.

They came to a standstill to the sound of an exaggerated cough a while later. A tall man with honeyed hair dressed in a dark tuxedo, stood before them. Ulrich Wolfgang looked apologetically from the stranger to her, "My apologies Miss Stark, this man is a business associate of mine that I must speak with. I shall have my assistant contact you in a week or so for your final decision."

"Of course Mr Wolfgang, it was a pleasure to finally meet you. Thank you for this opportunity." Leticia bowed slightly to him and then waved before wandering back across the crowded floor. "Miss Stark?" He called after her. Peering over her shoulder at him, she waited for him to continue. "There appears to be a man up there who is very interested in you. Maybe you should go and talk to him?" Giving him a small grin, Leticia nodded slightly before continuing to walk away.

Looking up towards the balcony where he had indicated, Leticia stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the man staring at her. The man was tall, thin, and dark-haired with piercing green eyes that she had seen in her dreams most of her life. "Tony?" She stuttered into her tiny earpiece. "I think I found him." Leticia was jostled by passing dancers, reminding her that she stood stock still and agape in the centre of a crowded floor. Then there came her brother's smartass response, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sorry...do you want to come and check? Of course I'm bloody sure." She snarled back. Glancing back up towards the baroque balcony, she was startled to see he was no longer there. "Tony he's gone!" She said urgently, cutting across his protests.

"Then find him. I'm on my way." He said brusquely and she could hear the sound of his exertion in his voice. Brushing off his tone as him being distracted by piloting the suit, she returned to her task of scanning the floor. Her eyes flicked past and then were drawn back to a figure descending the stairs from the balcony floor. 'Target acquired,' she thought.

Honing in on him, she paced quickly across the polished ceramic floor before moving gracefully up the stairs towards him. Thinking quickly, Leticia pretended to trip over the hem of her dress and stumbled into his path. Peering up into his eyes, expecting to see an emerald green that matched the shade of her dress, Leticia was surprised to see clouded blue looking down at her. However, her surprise only increased, as when they locked on her they flickered from blue to the familiar shade of green. "Are...you alright?" She asked hesitatingly, instinctively touching her covered wrist. His eyes sharpened at this and although they continued to change colour, they zoned in on her wrist. Reaching out one pale hand, he placed it directly over the rune marring her wrist. His touch sent a strange, not-wholly pleasant sensation throughout her arm, causing her to recoil strongly from his hold.

Stepping back slightly, she gave him an apologetic smile. He stared intently at her as though trying to solve a complicated puzzle before asking, "Have we met before?" His voice was strangely formal with an odd accent she had never heard before; in short, it was not what she had anticipated. "My name is Leticia Stark-"she cut off as her brother began squawking in her ear, "and no, not in the conventional sense." They stood staring at each other for a moment, for they were at an impasse. The dark-haired man looked conflicted for a moment before sighing in capitulation.

"My name is Loki and I am-" He cut himself off, giving her a suspicious look. "I am delighted to meet you. Perhaps we could continue our conversation on the main floor, rather than on the staircase?"

"Perhaps that would be wise," she conceded, threading her arm through his. Allowing him to lead her back down the stairs, she smiled gently at the looks he kept throwing her way. "I'm an artist and chief engineer at Stark Industries; the company my brother and I inherited from our father." The small talk seemed to help him relax slightly and he spoke again.

"I too have a brother. He is a...dunderhead." Leticia's eyes narrowed slightly at this.

"Mine can be a 'dunderhead' as well." Loki laughed sharply, bitterly and Tony began to once again squawk in her ear. Reaching up, aiming to look as though she were simply adjusting her hair; Leticia flicked the volume on her earpiece to low. Smiling brightly at Loki now that she could hear herself think Leticia turned her face back to the people ahead and saw that someone had begun a speech.

"Why do you wear that glove?" He asked her suddenly. She gaped silently at him, lost for words.

They had now reached the base of the staircase and they stood there staring at each other, him waiting for an answer he had no right to and her, trying to avoid the question. Shifting uncomfortably, her right leg hit against the bottom stair, creating for the first time that night, a noticeable metallic sound. Loki's eyes shot to her leg and widened massively; his eyes depicting a thousand questions. Although uncomfortable, Leticia still felt an unexplainable connection to this man and that confused her. She watched as he shook his head violently, clearly trying to regain his composure. He raised his head to gaze apologetically at her, before seemingly reluctantly raising his free hand in front of her face and glowing slightly. "This is for the best," he sighed. "For some reason, I can't stand the idea of hurting you." She was then forced to watch as he disentangled himself from her and stalked away in the direction of the speaker.

Tony's voice picked up again with an almost frantic intensity, "Lettie, Lettie, are you alright?" When she failed to respond, he spoke again. "I'm almost there, Lettie. I'm coming, I promise. I'm almost there, wait for me." Leticia struggled to move, to speak, to do something, but she could not move.

Helpless and vulnerable, Leticia turned intense eyes on Loki's back and watched as he attacked a man she did not recognise. She itched to help the scrambling people and with an inward groan, attempted to force her legs forwards. To her surprise, her right leg moved easily, but it took a few moments to force the other one to shift. Focusing all of her energy internally, she unconsciously glowed slightly. Suddenly, she stumbled off balance as whatever Loki had done was reversed.

Leaning against the wall slightly to regain her balance, Leticia gasped into her earpiece; "Tony! Tony, I'm alright. The target has exited the building, I don't know what he's playing at, but I'm heading out there. Hurry." Standing, she rushed across the now empty floor to the large oak doors. Bursting through the doors, she watched as Loki attempted to corral the terrified people. Stepping inconspicuously into the throng, she assimilated with them and went unnoticed by Loki.

Leticia allowed herself to be blockaded in by Loki's projections of himself, carefully assessing the situation. Noticing his change of attire, she attempted not to snicker at his pointy reindeer helmet and simultaneously gritted her teeth at what she recognised as royal Asgardian clothing. She was shocked from her musing by the sound of his booming voice. "Kneel before me!" He was largely ignored and she watched with growing consternation as red bloomed on his cheeks and his scowl grew. "I said. Kneel!" He roared and this time, people listened.

Hearing a whimper, Leticia turned her head slowly to the left. A young woman, close in age to herself, with dark hair and starlight eyes wearing a crimson gown was attempting to hold in her terrified tears. Reaching her hand over, she rested it lightly over the other woman's paler red clawed one. "What is your name?" She whispered quietly to the woman. The woman turned dread-filled eyes towards her and stared, uncomprehending. Leticia tried again, this time in German. Sudden comprehension filled the woman's eyes and she murmured back in heavily accented German, "My name is Katharina Köhler." Leticia internally thanked Pepper and Rhodey for pushing her to have those language classes as a child.

"Greeting Katharina, my name is Leticia Stark." Leticia smiled warmly, trying to set the woman at least partially at ease.

"Do you know what is going on?" Katharina asked her, moving a bit too vigorously in the still crowd and Leticia considered them lucky that Loki was otherwise distracted with his apparent speech; else he would have noticed them there.

"That man is not from here and he does not understand the customs. If you stay still and quiet and calm down, I assure you he will not attack you directly." The woman, Katharina, visibly attempted to calm herself down.

"Do you promise?" She asked, turning now dry eyes on Leticia.

"Yes, I promise. Now, stay here and stay quiet and I promise you will go home today." Katarina nodded and thanked her quietly. Removing her hand, Leticia smiled and then shifted back into her prior kneeling position.

Finally paying attention to Loki's antics, Leticia noted that he was halfway through a haughty rant. "-The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." Leticia watched as the tension ratcheted up and from the corner of her eye, she could see an elderly man shifting as if to rise. Switching back to English, the redheaded Stark spoke swiftly into her Stark-made earpiece. "Tony, the situation is escalating. I can control it for now, but you need to get here and soon." His return came quickly.

"Don't do it Lettie, there has to be another way. Don't give that much away; you can't do it, not without the suit."

"We are more than the suits brother." She snapped quietly. Lifting a hand, she flicked the earpiece to off and flipped her crimson hair.

Out of the corner of her eye, Leticia watched as the same wizened old man she had kept an eye on previously rose to his feet. "Not to men like you." Loki snapped to attention and growled angrily in the man's direction.

"There are no men like me."

"There are always men like you." Loki roared in rage and lunged towards the lone standing man.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example." Loki raised a previously unseen sceptre and made to attack the man.

Hastening to her feet, Leticia threw herself in front of the man. Loki watched as the too-familiar woman from before raised her hands slightly and the blue orb of energy that had blasted from his sceptre hit her. To his shock, however, once the dust settled she appeared unharmed before him. "Are you okay, sir?" She asked the elderly gentleman.

"Uh, yes...thank you." He responded in his thick German accent, shaking slightly.

Stepping away from the crowd slightly, Leticia moved to stand before Loki. "Stand down Loki; this doesn't need to go any further." Loki sneered at this suggestion and let out a harsh laugh.

"You should have stayed where I left you Miss Stark. I mean to rule these people and I shall not stand down for _you." _He blasted her again and grew more and more irritated as she appeared to simply wave it off.

"How are you doing that?" He growled, enraged.

"Oh I don't know...the same way I'm going to do this." She replied sassily and suddenly a dome of energy covered the still terrified gala guests. "Run!" She shouted at them and she did not have to ask twice. So distracted was she from watching their frantic escape, that she missed Loki taking aim at her once more. The blast threw her across the plaza and she groaned, clutching her head. "How did you survive that? That should have killed a mere mortal such as you."

"I guess I'm just special," she sassed back. Scrambling backwards on her hands to avoid his approach, she suddenly comprehended the vulnerability of her position. Throwing her hands up in front of her just in time for his next blast, Leticia was shocked to see a grey disc fly in front of her face. In the settled dust, shocked faces greeted the wall of Earth to the fore of the redheaded Stark and the patriotic shield wedged in a stone statue; both in efforts to protect her. Loki let out an expression of outcry and bewilderment, unsure whether the earthen wall or the bulky man wearing the stars and stripe costume, was more worthy of his attention.

Leticia rose to her feet shakily, keeping her focus centred on Loki rather than the star-spangled muscle man that had unnecessarily intervened. "Miss Stark," he called to her.

"Captain," She responded cautiously, never let her eyes stray from Loki.

"If I may ask, how on earth did you do that?"

"Detain the target first captain, questions later." She replied, rushing Loki. The dark-haired man darted backwards before taking a swipe at her with the sceptre. Dodging him, she raised hand and grasped the other end of the sceptre. Loki tugged it free and when he peered down at it, he was shocked to see the end that she had clutched was encased in ice. Raising his eyes to gawk at her, he was abruptly tossed through the air, where he landed heavily on the steps leading to the museum. Glancing at her once again, the only thing he noticed was her hands held out before her once again. Seeing the common factor, he went to take aim at her hands, before realising suddenly that he had lost his grip on the sceptre.

Moments later, his vision was blocked by 'the man out of time'. "It is time to stand down now," he ordered and as he shifted, Loki could see that Leticia now held his sceptre tightly in her two fists. Growling, he went to stand, but a sudden whirring of two different machines filled his senses. Looking up, Loki saw a high-tech aircraft from which came the sound of an angry female voice and a metal-clad man, who immediately began berating the redheaded woman.

Loki watched as she whacked the man of metal with his sceptre, before charging over to him and brandishing it at him. She was joined by the metal man whose metal suit shifted to reveal a large amount of weapons. "Make your move, Reindeer Games." He intoned, in a robotic voice.

"Stay where you are, Loki!" She snarled and they waited until he raised his hands in submission and settled back into his position. Loki then had a sense of déjà vu as the costumed man greeted the metal one;

"Mr Stark." He said, nodding at him.

"Captain," the other man responded, with a slightly chilly undertone. Loki then watched as Leticia rolled her eyes and motioned for him to get up and follow her. As she turned her back, he dogged her steps. The other two men fell into step behind him and Loki Odinson let loose a cruel triumphant smirk.

**A/N**

**So here it is chapter 5. I hope you guys enjoy it and my little twists. I would love some reviews, even a few words would be incredibly appreciated. I'd just like to know what you guys think of my story. Your continued and future support is greatly appreciated. So, my prediction is another couple of weeks for the next chapter. See you all soon. Thank you once again.**

**Highflyer0603,**

**Over and out. **


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